Cystoscopy
A camera look inside the bladder and urinary passage.
What is Cystoscopy?
A fine telescope is passed along the urinary passage to look directly at the urethra and bladder. It is often both the test and the treatment in the same sitting.
- Normal
Why It Is Asked For
This test is requested only when the answer would change what we do next.
- Confirming and treating posterior urethral valves in a boy
- Puncturing a ureterocele to decompress it
- Injecting bulking agent for vesicoureteral reflux
- Investigating blood in the urine or an unexplained bladder problem
Before the Day
- Urine must be free of infection
- Fasting as instructed by the anaesthetist
- Done under general anaesthetic in children
On the Day
- General anaesthetic; there is no external cut
- The telescope is passed along the urinary passage
- Any planned treatment is carried out during the same procedure
- Usually 15 to 30 minutes for a diagnostic look
What the Results Show
- Findings are explained on the day, often with photographs
- Where treatment was carried out, aftercare instructions are given before discharge
Is It Safe?
- Stinging on passing urine and a little blood for a day or two is common
- Urinary infection afterwards is uncommon and antibiotic cover is often given
- Narrowing of the urethra from instrumentation is rare
Common Questions
If your question is not here, send it on WhatsApp and the hospital team will answer.
Dr. Pratheep Samraj
Consultant Paediatric & Neonatal Surgeon · Palliyadi, Kanyakumari
Super-specialist surgical care for newborns, infants and children, with expertise in paediatric urology, congenital anomalies, gastro-intestinal surgery and minimally invasive surgery.
Often the test and the treatment in the same sitting.
Valves can be divided, a ureterocele punctured and reflux injected under one anaesthetic, which avoids a second. Bring the MCUG report.
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